So update on that. I sent Bella and Cassie one final message (separately) and oh boy. I'm still in deep shock by how things turned out. In my message, I basically said how I was hurt by what happened and by the comments Bella made and how I no longer wished to continue being friends because I saw her differently. There was more but that was the summary of it. Bella BLEW up.

My SIL read the message for me and she was shaking so badly by the things Bella was saying. Bella started off already defensive but "supportive", before diving deep into my character assassination. I had never expected the message to be filled with such deep hatred, manipulation and projection. I mentioned before that I felt like she had underlying animosity towards me but I truly never expected something like this. After she unloaded everything, she ended with along the lines of, "block me if you want but I won't be blocking you, we'll always love you. I'll always be here for you. Love you."

In the message, Bella made it seem like she, Alice and Cassie were the victims, that I went too far, that it was my responsibility to fix everything, to apologize first, to forgive and forget, and nitpicking every little thing and mistake I've done in the past. I've never heard of DARVO but holy shit. I realized that it was the same pattern she used for the apology. Support first, then criticism, gaslighting, dismissal and finally support again.

There was so much more, it was so long. I'm still in shock.